Screenshots

Digital manipulation of photo-journalism... ( 4 )

Screenshots has attracted responses from the practitioner community who takes press photos as a profession. I will let the press photogs from the world's three major wire agencies -- Reuters, AFP and AP -- do the talking:

PAUL BARKER, Reuters Global Pictures Desk Editor:

"Reuters does not permit photographers to either add content to an image or delete content from an image. Reuters uses only a very tiny part of Photoshop's potential capability to crop and size pictures and balance the tone and colour."

The position statement was conveyed to Screenshots via Mark Bendeich, Bureau Chief, Reuters, Malaysia.

ROMEO GACAD, Chief Photographer, Agence France-Press, Asia-Pacific (Philippines):

"Newspapers must stick to the basic rule of photojournalism. Shoot it raw, and report it raw if a particular picture is chosen for publication."

Romeo covered two Iraqi wars, and was embedded for 41 days with the US troops in Iraq during the 2003 invasion. In April 2005, he was seconded for a one-year stint with The Star as the press photos consultant. He is now based in Manila.

VINCENT THIAN, Picture Editor, Associated Press, Asia Pacific (Malaysia):

"I'm very agreeable with what Mr CY Leow says: As photojournalists, we have the responsibility to document society and to preserve its images as a matter of historical record. But sadly in Malaysia, lots of photographers are forced to (get) pose pic due to the very limited amount of time given to each assignment, and newspaper editors sometimes expect the photographers to come back with the images they expected even it just didn't happen. They will still ask: 'Can you tell them to show you or pose for you?' :( "

Vincent, who is the president of the Malaysian Chinese Photojournalist Association (MCPA), is currently speeding up the compilation of a "Press Photographers Handbook", which it intends to enable both the photographers and newspaper editors to know more about the responsibility of a news picture.

Photoshop editing

On February 19, Vincent posted in Asianphotog.org a note on Photoshop editing for news photographers:

A News picture must always tell the truth. We do not alter or manipulate the content of a photograph in any way.

The content of a photograph must not be altered in PhotoShop or by any other means. No element should be digitally added to or subtracted from any photograph.

The faces or identities of individuals must not be obscured by PhotoShop or any other editing tool. Only retouching or the use of the cloning tool to eliminate dust and scratches are acceptable.

Minor adjustments in PhotoShop are acceptable. These include cropping, dodging and burning, conversion into grayscale, and normal toning and color adjustments that should be limited to those minimally necessary for clear and accurate reproduction (analogous to the burning and dodging often used in darkroom processing of images) and that restore the authentic nature of the photograph.

Changes in density, contrast, color and saturation levels that substantially alter the original scene are not acceptable.

Backgrounds should not be digitally blurred or eliminated by burning down or by aggressive toning.

The topic is being discussed in Asianphotogs forum.

Not Bazuki

Meanwhile, Vincent said in the Asianphotogs forum yesterday:"I've checked with the newspapers, the picture was manipulated by the newspapers. NOT Bazuki."

Vincent's finding was confirmed by Bendeich, Reuters bureau chief in Malaysia.

Let's wait and see if NSTP Group EIC Hishamuddin Aun has anything to say. Screenshots will publish his comments verbatim when that happens. Hishamuddin was the Editor-in-Chief of Berita Harian at the material time the disputed Reuters picture was published on March 22, 2006.